Sharks in the Water: tips to keep your small business afloat

Cyberattacks are more of a threat now than ever, and they can cause a lot of pain, not only for you but also for your business.

The threat of cyberattack alone is enough to cause any business owner to pause, but there are steps you can take to ensure your business information is safe and secure.

Make sure backups are performed correctly.Don’t assume that whoever is in charge of your data backups is actually performing them. Check. And then double check. Make sure that you can access those backups and that the information on them is correct.

Send it to the cloud.Backing up your information to the cloud is further protection from natural disasters that could harm on-site servers. It also acts as a safeguard in case on-site backups become compromised. Not to mention, cloud servers provide a separate layer of security that can even meet compliance protocols.

Train your employees.The more you teach your employees how to recognize phishing scams and keep their personal devices secured, the safer your information will be. In the age of bring-your-own-device, employees are using their personal phones and laptops to store and use company information. If those employees don’t put security protocols in place, your information is ripe for the taking.

Invest in cyberinsurance.You invest in insurance for your car, your phone and your business. Your data is no different. Cyberinsurance takes care of your business should someone gain access to your servers. It covers expenses for investigations into the perpetrator, business losses due to downtime, privacy and notification, as well as lawsuits and extortion. Just make sure the policy you get is worth the investment. Not all policies are created equal and there aren’t any minimum standards to keep carriers accountable.

Cybersecurity is, unfortunately, a necessary evil of doing business right now. While these steps won’t guarantee that your company won’t become a target, it does give you a fighting chance to do business another day.

To see if there are any other ways that you could strengthen your business’ security, email us atsales@centricmit.comfor your free IT assessment.